New signings Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford combined twice as Aston Villa came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 at Villa Park on Saturday.
Chelsea took the lead in the ninth minute when Pedro Neto skipped past Ian Maatsen before drilling a low delivery across the face of goal which only required a light touch from Enzo Fernandez to turn it past Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
But Chelsea did not consolidate on their lead and half-time substitute Rashford — who was initially ruled offside before the video assistant referee (VAR) system overturned the decision — helped Aston Villa to level when he tapped a Matty Cash delivery across the six-yard box for Asensio to bundle home.
After once again being fed by fellow mid-season recruit Rashford, Asensio then netted a 90th-minute winner after a huge mistake from Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, who allowed a first-time strike to slide underneath him.
Villa started slowly but eventually clicked and made the most of Chelsea’s poor defending, getting in behind through good passing play from John McGinn and Youri Tielemans, but the hosts lacked the precision to equalise in the first half as Ollie Watkins failed to convert any of his four efforts.
Cole Palmer’s recent underwhelming form continued as he squandered an glorious chance to restore Chelsea’s lead at 1-1, taking too long to shoot as goalkeeper Martinez slipped twice, giving Ezri Konsa time to rush back and clear his effort.
Asensio’s late winner means Villa rise to seventh in the table, a point behind Chelsea and two points off fourth-placed Manchester City.
